Alice
by keroRiBBIT
Summary: When Tenten was eight, she had a glimpse of a world that was beyond her imagination. Two years later, due to unforeseen circumstances, she was invited to a prestigious school for the gifted people with an 'Alice', a special ability unique to each person. Despite the supposed greatness of the school, a boy shows her that there is always more than it meets the eye. (Gakuen Alice AU)
1. Prologue: A Glimpse

**Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto**

 **Gakuen Alice © Higuchi Tachibana**

Prologue: A Glimpse

Today was her eighth birthday. Like all eight year olds, she found herself very excited at the prospect of celebrating her big day. That morning, Tenten was hopping all over the walls, a huge smile adoring her face and excitement radiating off of her in waves and waves.

Hurriedly, she took her morning bath. Her grandpa always insisted that she take one before leaving the house. She didn't understand why, she didn't smell! She takes a bath every night before going to sleep so she didn't get why she had to do it again the morning after. Actually, she thinks she does; know that is. It was hy-ge-nic, grandpa always said. But still, some of her classmates at school always boasted to her how their parents never really urged them to take a bath before going to school. Tenten found that unfair. They don't smell bad at all, she always grumbled to herself.

Cold water sprayed her body as she turned on the shower. That was another thing her young mind always complained about - cold showers. Grandpa said that it was very healthy for your skin. Tenten didn't see the need for it at all. It makes her hair look weird afterwards. Despite her not liking it, she had always been obedient. Her grandpa was old and it wouldn't do well if she made him mad.

Raising an arm, she turned off the shower. From the corner of the bathroom, she procured a rectangular plastic stool and placed it inside the shower area. Near the shower head was a shelf of toiletries that was barely in her reach, hence the stool. When she was little it was always Oba-chan who would bathe her until the time came when she was old enough to do so herself.

Remembering what awaited her for her birthday, she quickly grabbed the shampoo and liquid soap bottles her grandpa always gave her and placed them on the floor for easy reach as she hopped down from the stool, careful not to slip on the tiles. Snapping open the shampoo bottle, she placed a significant amount on the palm of her hand and applied it on her brown locks thoroughly; or as thorough as an excited eight-year-old could be. Not even a minute later, she was already grabbing the soap bottle. She didn't bother with the loofah in her bathing frenzy, merely applied the liquid directly on her body and spreading it all over with her hands. Oba-chan would be mad if she found out but it's not like she would, she convinced herself.

After applying the soap from her neck down to the tips of her toes, she was greeted once again with a cold spray. She kept rubbing her head in an effort to rinse out the suds faster, she knew she shouldn't have placed so much. It was taking too long!

Finally! After what seemed like years for the little girl but truly only a mere forty-five seconds in reality, she deemed herself clear of all soap and promptly turned of the water. With a flick of her chubby wrist, the shower curtain opened in one slide. Quickly taking the towel, she first proceeded to towel dry her hair, effectively messing it up. Then she continued to pat herself dry. Not bothering to cover herself up, she left the towel on the floor like a common eight year old and ran to her bedroom that was connected to the bathroom.

On her bed lay freshly ironed clothes. She was sure it was Oba-chan who had laid it all up for her, she doubted grandpa would do so, he didn't know how to iron! Tenten felt a smile form on her lips as she thought of her grandpa, face all wrinkly in a frown, trying to iron her outside clothes. Speaking of clothes, she grabbed her undies from her closet drawer and put them on. Going to the bed she looked at the outfit her Oba-chan had especially prepared for her.

It was a sleeveless, Chinese style top. It was pink and there were cute golden frog fasteners on the middle. Paired with the top were simple dark green leggings. The girl couldn't help but squeal at the sight of them. It was just like what she saw on TV! Only, the pants she saw on the TV series she was watching had lots of pockets and there were these bandage-like wrappings going on in one leg. Still, after Tenten put it on, she couldn't help but give a mock high-kick into the air. Somehow, she felt like a ninja, "but not as much as a ninja grandpa is," Tenten giggled at the thought.

Glancing at the mirror and looking at her outfit, a huge grin erupted but soon turned into a frown when she caught sight of her hair. It was a mess, still sopping and all over her face. She scrunched up her nose at her reflection. Paying no heed to the comb that was conveniently placed near the mirror, she simply divided her hair in the middle and patted her brown locks down to make it seem as neat as possible. Finally satisfied with her appearance, young Tenten was out of the door in a flash.

Grandpa's house was a two-storey one. Her home wasn't that big. It was enough for the four of them, Tenten deemed. Other than Grandpa and Oba-chan, she had her baby cousin, Konohamaru with her at the home. Sometimes, Asuma-jisan would stay with them during the summer. But Tenten's birthday was on the ninth of March, spring, hence, no Asuma-jisan. The thought didn't seem to plague her mind much longer though, as she reached the kitchen, Grandpa was there drinking tea.

"Grandpa!" She hoped to surprise him, but alas, it feels like her grandpa could sense everything. Nothing could faze him, Tenten believed.

"Good morning Tenten," Hiruzen's raspy voice said.

"Morning." Skipping towards the front of her grandpa, she twirled around. "Look what oba-chan gave me! It looks like the ones in TV we always watched!"

"Really now, may I see." His hand letting go of the tea cup, he motioned his right index finger in a counter-clockwise motion. Hyped up with the attention, Tenten twirled again enthusiastically when Hiruzen stopped her and said, "Ah, ah. Slower this time dear."

She did as she was told. Her grin getting bigger and bigger when she saw her grandpa's approving look. Alas, when she was once again face-to-face with the old man, she saw him smiling down at her but instantly frown when he saw the brown tuft atop her head that was her hair.

"Tenten," he warned at first but he did not finish. With a sigh, "Go to Kurenai and get your hair fixed," he said.

Sighing in relief, she nodded and rushed out of the kitchens to find her Oba-chan. Before she was out of hearing range, she heard her Grandpa call out a, "Happy Birthday, dear."

oOo

She found her Oba-chan in the study, going through her mail. In the corner, she could see her five-year-old cousin, Konohamaru, immersed in slamming two toy trucks with one another and making crashing sounds.

"Aunt Kurenai!" Tenten exclaimed, bounding over to her beloved mother figure. Kurenai was the lovely fiance of her Uncle Asuma. She had been the mother she never had and Tenten wouldn't ask for anyone else. The brunette loved her even more when the woman before her had opted to stay with them, to assist her grandpa with taking care of both Tenten and Konohamaru when her Uncle Asuma was tasked to work somewhere in the city for ten months a year; only coming back home during summer vacations.

The woman smiled at her, but like her grandpa, her smile turned into a frown when she caught sight of her hairdo. Also like her grandpa, Kurenai just sighed, deciding to give the girl a break. Combing the brunette's messy locks with a pale hand, Tenten found herself captivated by the woman's piercing red gaze. She found it funny, it's not only her; she noticed that a lot of people found her aunt's eyes entrancing and captivating. Others may have thought of it as haunting, but the girl didn't know that.

Breaking eye contact, Kurenai gestured with her head a drawer on the opposite side of the room and said with an exasperated smile, "Go get the brush and we'll fix your hair."

Flashing her a grin, she turned around looked for the brush. Behind her, Kurenai stood up from her seat and went to a nearby book shelf where a container of hair ties lay amongst the hard bound books.

After procuring the brush, she hurriedly sat down on the chair previously occupied by her aunt, and thus, the hair tying routine commenced as Kurenai took hold of the brush and proceeded with untangling her brown locks. Tenten felt herself relaxing with her touch. That's another thing she noticed about Aunt Kurenai, she can make you feel things. There was a time when she accidentally broke an expensive flower vase and had kept all evidences thereof but with one look, Kurenai had made guilt bubble up inside of her in mere seconds and had made her tell the truth.

"So, what's the agenda for today?" The black-haired beauty asked, conversationally.

"Well," Tenten started, her disposition calmed down with the feel of Kurenai's hands doing their magic on her hair. "Me and grandpa are going to the city today."

For a second, Kurenai had stopped her movements. To say that she was surprised would be an understatement. She knew for a fact that old man Sarutobi did not like going anywhere in Tokyo, not with Tenten.

Resuming her routinely maneuvers, she tried not to let her astonishment show lest she worried the kid too much. "Really. What did your grandpa say you were gonna do?" She said as neutral as possible, finishing a hair bun and continuing with the other side.

"I think grandpa is taking me to that new amusement park we saw on the news and the old petting zoo I went to with Uncle Asuma a looooong time ago," she replied. Elongating just how long ago it was still with her eyes closed and narrow shoulders slumped in relaxation.

"Ne, why am I being left behind?" The both of them seemed to have forgotten about the boy previously at the corner, now in front of the chair Tenten was sitted at. "I wanna go to the zoo too!" Konohamaru exclaimed, the absence of one of his front teeth clearly seen as he grinned, both hands in fists with the prospect of being able to join their trip.

"Nu uh! You can't," Tenten said, like any other bossy older sister did. "It's _my_ birthday and I'm going to spend it with grandpa alone!"

"No fair! I wanna go to the petting zoo!"

"You went to that fancy-shmansy toy museum on _your_ birthday!" Tenten retorted, remembering how she wasn't allowed to go with them too.

"But that was a _loooong_ time ago! And it's no where near the city!" The boy wailed.

"Boo ho-Yeow!" She felt a sting on her scalp where Kurenai had snapped the hair ties.

"That's enough," Kurenai said, finished with her hairbuns and turning around calmly to place the brush and the jar of elastics back on the shelf. The younger of the two took this as an opportunity to stick out his tounge at bunhaired girl and Tenten retaliated by pulling on his ear. When Kurenai turned around to glare at them, they were the picture of innocence.

"Konohamaru, you know your grandpa can't handle the both of you on his own-," "You can come with me too, Aunt Kurenai!" The boy butted in.

"Ah, but it's Tenten and your Grandpa's alone time. Be patient, sooner or later your birthday would be just around the corner."

One look and Konohamaru was subdued. "Okay," he moped and went back to his toys. There was certainly something about Aunt Kurenai.

The older woman turned back to Tenten, "And you," she fixed the girl with a stern gaze. "If I ever catch you not using the loofah," she did not need to finish the sentence for the threat to come about. Tenten frantically nodded her head and bolted out the door with a, "See you Aunt Kurenai!"

"No fair," Konohamaru mumbled, playing with his toy trucks with much less vigor. Kurenai could only sigh.

oOo

So far, Tokyo was amazing, Tenten thought. They were in the bullet train and she thought she was lucky enough to sit on the side with a great view on it. Humongous billboards with funny cartoons drawn on it, tall buildings and skyscrapers, Tenten was trying to take in all the sights. This wasn't her first time in Tokyo but boy, did she love going here.

She felt a tap on her shoulder, craning her neck, she was faced with her grandpa. "Come on, girly. This is our stop."

The only downside Tenten could see was the crampness of the train. Thankfully, she was with grandpa. People always give their seats to the old people and in extension, her. That doesn't mean they escaped the throng of people, however.

Hiruzen kept a white-knuckled grip on her granddaughter's wrist as he weaved through the people, trying to get to the train's doors. Tenten was having a hard time keeping up. Try as she might, she could not follow the path her grandpa was forcibly dragging her to.

In her effort to not lose the grip of her grandpa, Tenten had failed to notice someone's foot in her way. Inadvertently, she tripped; Hiruzen's grip had all but lost her. With the speed of lightning, she got up and squeezed her way into the mob, frantically outstretching the arm that her grandpa had gripped. The girl tried her best not to panic when she heard the buzzing that signified the closing of the train doors. She felt relief shot through her system when a hand had once again enclosed her wrist and pulled on her; and then next thing she knew she was out of the train and on the less crowded space of the station platform.

"Thought I lost you there, kiddo. But alas! The power of youth had divinated myself to you." A loud voice boomed.

Looking left and right, Tenten searched for the man who had the obnoxiously loud voice.

"Now, Lee. Are you ready to see the academy?" The same man boomed again and almost simultaneously, her grandpa's hand had dropped hers. Until then did she looked up, only to see a thumbs-up right in front of her face and a blinding white smile at the background belonging to a man that was decidedly _not_ her grandpa.

The wind rustled around them, Tenten blinked.

So did the strange man.

Another second passed. The man had dropped his thumbs-up and looked at her, head leaning on one side, a thick eyebrow raised in confusion.

"You're not Lee," he stated, albeit, dumbly. Tenten nodded her head once, twice, entranced by the man's eyebrows.

Meanwhile...

"Yosh!" A boy aged only eight swung a small but incredibly fast fist towards Hiruzen. "Why have you taken me from my sensei old man!"

"There, there boy. Calm down," Hiruzen's efforts were in vain when the boy aimed a kick to his shins. He could only jump out of harm's way, suspiciously very fluid for an old man. The boy did not seem to notice this as he continued his barrage of kicks and punches with unbelievable speed.

"Have you abducted me like sensei had warned? Are you going to use me for my special abilities?" Hiruzen sweatdropped at the theatrical way the boy was talking but on the back of his mind ran a thought, _"So he's one of 'em."_ Suddenly, he felt thankful that he opted to take a shortcut through a quiet alley before noticing that the child he was holding on to was not his granddaughter.

Quickly, he grabbed the wrist that almost made contact with his stomach but failed to see the foot that managed to hit his knee. The only sign that he was affected by it at all was a barely heard grunt of pain. In one fast reflex, he dropped the wrist and swung his two arms upward, bending both of his knees and jumping high and above the boy. The boy turned around to see the man in a graceful crouch and he stood there awestruck. Thoughts of this old man being his so-called kidnapper were all thrown out of the window at the acrobatic display.

The boy felt a chill down his spine when they old man suddenly snapped his eyes towards his own. They held a glint that promised something quite unpleasant and he could not help but shudder. He was reminded of a clown he had pissed off in a children's party months ago with the way Hiruzen smiled at him. The boy could only gulp.

With Tenten...

"Will you quit following me?" The strange man stopped in his tracks, making her bump against his lower back.

"But Uncle, you took me from my grandpa." Tenten said matter of factly whilst rubbing her nose.

"No, I did not, little girl." How many times had he told the child that, he did not know. "And don't call me Uncle."

"Ne, should I call you grandpa too, then?" Tenten asked, a teasing smile on her innocent face. The smile only widened when she saw the man sigh in defeat.

"Call me Gai-sensei then," and with that Gai-sensei started to walk again. Not more than ten steps, he whirled around to Tenten's annoyingly cute smile.

He gave her a sickeningly sweet smile of his own, "Little girl, why are you still following me? I thought I specifically told you to wait for your grandpa in the station with the security guard."

"Ne, I thought it was okay since you gave me your name Gai-sensei!" Tenten gave the man a grin that only a child would have. "By the way, I'm Tenten!" She added as an after thought. Grandpa always told her not to speak to strangers but somehow, she felt like she could trust Gai, not to mention she found him rather funny for an adult.

She tried not to laugh when the man gave in with a groan, "Alright, alright. I'll help you look for your grandpa." Gai stopped her attempt at a jump of joy and a cheer of hooray with a finger. "But first, let us find my student for I fear for his safety." Traces of worry began to form lines on his forehead. In the short span that he had known the boy, Gai had grown attached to him and he could not bear the child being harmed under his watch.

Gai was surprised by the small hand that took his own. Glancing down, he saw the Tenten girl look up at him with one of her (Gai realised) many smiles. "Don't worry, I'll help you!" Well, who could be let down with a face like that? Gai gave her a smile of his own, his brilliant white teeth showing it's rays once again.

"Yosh! I can feel the springtime of youth swimming through my veins! If we cannot find Lee in an hour, I would have to look for him in the next while only standing in my hands!"

Three hours later...

"Hey Gai-sensei, are you alright?" They were at a secluded park of some sort yet it was not. There was a single path almost as big as a four-lane highway and lining the sides were a mass of trees. In the city! Wherever did you see such a thing?

Gai muttered something incorrigible from his position on the ground. Almost mocking him, Tenten crouched down towards his level on the street floors, steadily poking his head.

"My grandpa is stronger than you, are you sure you don't want me to call you Ji-san instead?"

Gai was seriously getting impatient with this girl and her sassy little mouth. He was having second thoughts on bringing this kid along with him in his search of his newest student. Actually, he's had more than just second thoughts. More than a thousand thoughts for that matter. Oh how it would be so easy to leave her in a nearby police station, Gai thought, a sinister smile blooming on his face. He halted the thought to a stop.

He can't just leave the girl behind. There was something pulling him towards her. It's something that he hadn't felt in a long while, not even in his precious new protege. It was something almost magnetic. Something almost fatherly.

Gai shuddered at the thought. No. He was to young (too youthful!) to be a father, at least in his opinion. But he can't shake off the protective instinct he was having in the presence of the girl. It has been quite a while. Being a teacher for a handful of years now, it was hard to be affectionate with every child you see. Not when half of the kids you teach hate your guts.

How terribly unyouthful. Gai placed the depressing thought aside.

With his mind swimming deep into his thoughts, he had failed to notice that the poking had stopped and the source of his annoyance gone along with it.

'Odd,' Gai had thought. He raised his head from it's face-down position on the ground. "Tenten?" He twisted his head left and right.

"Tenten?" He called out, panic clear in his voice. This was no park, it was something else and Gai knew it by heart. Other people lurked behind these trees, some of them your common burglars and kidnappers. Some even more dangerous than the city's most wanted criminals.

'Two kids in one day!' Gai thought, angry at himself. He closed his eyes, concentrating. Slowly, he raised his two arms, crossing and aligning them with his forehead. He took in a deep breath and exhaled. He glowed a light shade of green. "Yosh!" When he opened his eyes, metaphorical fire was burning within them. And then he was gone.

oOo

"Come closer," a voice kept whispering in her head. "Closer." Tenten was deep in the green foliage of the peculiar forest. When Gai-sensei was preoccupied with bemoaning his pain on the floor, a persistent voice came whispering. She decided to follow it. Unknowingly, she began to delve deeper into the trees. Something kept pulling her, despite not knowing where she was going, she was sure with every step she took. Then the voices became louder. "Almost there," someone whispered again. She was drawn towards the edge of the forest, signified by the long wall of colossal boulders covered with vines that blocked any trails that lead to it.

Mesmerized, Tenten traced a hand along the vine-covered wall. She began to walk forward aligning herself with the wall, the tips of her fingers barely brushing the rough texture of the boulders.

She did not know for how long she walked. She just kept going, not even noticing that the voice that supposedly lead her there was now absent.

She kept her fingertips grazing the leaves also feeling the hard stone behind it as her feet aimlessly trudged forth. Suddenly, the most peculiar thing happened. Her fingers went through the leaves and Tenten felt that she could not have removed her hand fast enough as she stared at that single space, her breathing suddenly stilled.

There was nothing different about this particular area when looked upon with the rest. Curious, the girl raised a shaking hand towards the rock and proceeded to touch it. It swallowed her hand whole and she felt like she could not have pulled it away fast enough.

"Go inside," the voice came back, but this time it was not alone. Different voices kept telling her to "Goinsidegoinside _go inside_ ," as it kept echoing inside her head, sending chills down her spine. Yet, she lingered.

"Inside," a different voice now, was rising above the rest and Tenten felt her pupils dillate as if entranced. She took a step forward, and another, and another. The tips of her shoes now invisible, eaten by the wall before her but she did not stop. She raised another foot, half of her leg now within the wall, finding the ground inside it and then the rest of her body followed, almost fully inside...but she felt a hand roughly tug on her shoulder and pulled her abruptly from the wall. She fell to the ground with a gasp.

"Grandpa!" Flabbergasted, Tenten stared wide eyed as she looked up to the face of her grandfather.

"Come now, Tenten." Her grandfather said, hooking his upperlimbs underneath her arms as he hoisted her up to a standing position. Brushing imaginary dirt off of her clothes, Hiruzen informed, "We might be a little behind but I think we might still be able to go to that amusement park after we stop shortly on the petting zoo. We must hurry though."

Tenten, however was still dazed and unsteady on her feet not unlike a drunk person trying to make sense of his surroundings. "B-but, Grandpa. H-how did you find me?"

Hiruzen merely gave a small chuckle, as if his granddaughter wasn't just lost inside a dangerous forest and walking through walls. "Why, i found your friend dear," he said with a smile. "He's quite eye-catching, no?" he added and proceeded to take her hand and dragged her out of the green foliage.

"Gai-sensei? You saw Gai-sensei? Where is he?" the girl asked, suddenly alert at the mention of his new 'friend'.

"Save the questions for later girl, else the petting zoo might close before we get there," Hiruzen said easily.

Subdued but not satisfied, Tenten replied with an, "Okay," unsuspicios of the way her Grandpa maneuvered his way out of the forest, deftly avoiding every branch, root or rock that got in his way, as if he trekked the path a million times before.

oOo

 **A/N:** At last, I finally posted this. First off, I think I drifted from the GA plot but I'll keep the concepts and the major events. It was hard for me write Tenten in Mikan's shoes since Mikan was the crying type and from what I see, Tenten is not. Second...thete's no second

My favorite thing about the story is Gai and Tenten's relationship. It was inspired by this filler episode I watched wherein Hizashi kidnapped all the jonins and when they retrieved Gai, Tenten all but smacked his cheek with a bandaid and Gai told her off like "Can't you be anymore gentle?" then Tenten was being her cute sassy genin self with a peace sign saying "But it's just a scratch." Cuute.


	2. Chapter 1: A New Friend

**A/N:** Thank you so much to misspandalily for reviewing the intro!

 **Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto**

 **Gakuen Alice © Higuchi Tachibana**

Chapter 1: A New Friend

"Tenten, hurry down, you're gonna be late." She heard Kurenai call from the stairs.

"Coming!" Tying her hair as quickly as possible, ten-year old Tenten fumbled with her hair ties and struggled to tie her brown locks up in her two buns. When she deemed herself appropriate, she quickly grabbed her backpack and hurried out the stairs.

From the top of the stairs she could see Kurenai waiting for her with a look on her face, Tenten merely smiled at her goofily. In response, the red-eyed woman gave her a mild glare that told her to hurry. The brunette bounded down the stairs and jumped the last two steps. When her feet hit the ground she yelled, "Ready!" But as she said so, her hair unraveled from their hastily made buns.

"Uhuh," Kurenai said, still giving her a look. "Come here," she gestured for the girl. Tenten felt a scolding coming her way.

Using unnecessary force, Kurenai had detangled the brown locks and opted to style it with the same vigor. "What use is an alarm clock," Tenten felt a slight pain in her scalp where Kurenai had fingercombed a nasty knot, "If you don't get up when it rings!"

"Ow!" Tenten whined.

"Quiet!" Kurenai hissed.

"But I told you! My alarm clock is broken, it doesn't go off at all."

Not for the first time, Tenten had found her alarm clock to be malfunctioning. If it wasn't for the convenient wall clock across her bed, Tenten would have the habit of not being present to her first class. Unfortunately, or fortunately, she only had the habit of being twenty minutes late, not that it was any better. Kurenai would have a go on her either way.

"I only bought that clock yesterday, Tenten." Her aunt said matter-of-factly. "And don't you notice that I go upstairs to wake you everyday?"

"Hmph." She forgot about that tiny little detail.

"Anyway, you've got no time for breakfast. You have to eat along the way," she said, handing her a brown paper bag she had gotten from somewhere Tenten did not notice. "There's your lunch and I added rice cakes for breakfast."

Tenten heard somebody knock on the open front door. It was Genma, with his usual bandana taming his hair and his signature toothpick clutched between his lips. Genma was somewhat like their babysitter. He walked them to school everyday, fetched them after classes, supervising when they're at the park and chaperoning almost anywhere. He was like a constant shadow but he was fun. Tenten looked up to him like an older brother and he in turn, treated her and Konohamaru like the little pests he had for siblings (He said this jokingly of course, at least that was what Tenten thought).

"You ready to go? Konohamaru's waiting outside."

"Hai," Tenten said with a nod, eager to literally get out of her aunt's clutches. She could still feel the sting in her scalp where Kurenai had viciously combed through a knot.

She headed to where her back pack lay every morning a few feet from the front door. Quickly, she placed down the paper bag that contained her bout of daily nutrition to properly carry her backpack. When the bag was snuggled on her back, she hurried towards her aunt and kissed her on the cheek. Afterwards she turned to Genma and exclaimed, "Let's go!"

However, Kurenai halted the both of them. Or rather, she only halted Genma.

"Go on Tenten, I'm going to give Genma a few reminders." Tenten noticed Genma's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She shrugged and did what she was told. With a smile and a wave to her aunt, Tenten was out of the house. She saw Konohamaru a little distance before her, already outside the gate.

When she neared him, he gave a little snort. "About time," he sneered but his eyes were teasing her.

"Oh shut up," said Tenten. She noticed a familiar paper bag in Konohamaru's hands. "You're one to talk. You haven't had the time to eat breakfast too as far as I can see."

Konohamaru retaliated by sticking out his tongue. "Where's yours anyway? I wanna trade my sesame dumplings with your rice cakes."

"There are sesame dumplings?" Tenten exclaimed eyes glittering, whereas Konohamaru grimaced, looking as if he gulped a mouthful of sour milk.

"Wait, I think I left it inside." Tenten all but yanked open the gate and climbed the porch stairs in a single step. The front door was open and she could see Aunt Kurenai and Genma talking. They didn't see her for their back was facing her and they were having a conversation in hushed tones. As Tenten neared her lunch bag, she heard snippets of their conversation.

"-all over the village. They've been tipped off that a boy here needs to be recruited."

"Yeah but they're focused on finding this boy. No one's gonna know about-" Kurenai cut him off.

"I know!" She heard her aunt take a deep breath. Tenten could not see her face but she felt the hair on the back of her neck raise up in alarm. "I know. Just...just watch out for them. I have a bad feeling."

Tenten had the feeling that she wasn't supposed to hear any of that, she quickly grabbed her lunch bag and hurried outside before Genma could turn around. She was taking large gulps of air by the time she reached Konohamaru, panting more so from nerves rather than exertion. The eight-year-old looked at her weirdly.

"What's up with you?"Konohamaru asked.

Tenten waved him off. "Nothing, nothing. Aunt Kurenai and Genma were talking and didn't want me to hear."

There was a gleam in Konohamaru's eyes, "Oooh. What were they talking about?"

"I don't know, I didn't hear." She said convincingly.

There was a sly smile growing on Konohamaru's face "Kukuku, is Genma-nii-chan putting on the moves," Konohamaru imitated someone that looked to be a handsome movie star, with the blinding smile and a wink, "On Aunt Kurenai?" He wiggled his eyebrows for emphasis.

Tenten scrunched her nose in disgust, from the thought of Kurenai and Genma together or Konohamaru's pitiful attempt to look cool, she did not know. Nonetheless she shook her head, "Don't be silly, she and Uncle Asuma are gonna be married soon."

Konohamaru snorted, "Didn't stop him before."

"Didn't stop who before?" Genma suddenly appeared behind Tenten.

Konohamaru flashed him an innocent smile, "No one Genma-nii-chan."

Genma didn't look convinced but it seems he let the matter go. Instead, he walked ahead towards their school.

"Come on. You're late already." He said when he noticed that Tenten and Konohamaru failed to follow him.

Catching her breath, Tenten managed to catch up with Genma, whose long strides were no match for her short legs. Beside her, she could see Konohamaru pant too. Genma grinned at them but didn't say anything. Rather, he focused ahead. Tenten thinks that he seems a bit rigid.

The walk to school was ten minutes at most, provided that the both of them (Tenten and Konohamaru) weren't particularly distracted through out the walk, which they are arguably prone to do, just to make Genma tick. However, Tenten could see that it was him who was distracted this time.

For one thing, he was walking in front of them whereas on any normal day, he would be bringing the rear, always ready to manhandle them whenever they decide to stray. He seemed abnormally reserved too and this is what struck Tenten the most. Genma didn't pass the opportunity to look good in front of girls. "Ladies like guys who are good with kids" he said to them once when Konohamaru unabashedly asked as to why in the world was Genma holding their hands. Almost everyday, another reason why they often get the tardy slip, Genma would include them in his schemes on getting his poor victims' numbers.

"What's up with Genma-nii-chan?" Konohamaru seemed to have noticed too.

Tenten shrugged, "I don't know." Or maybe she did. Genma and Kurenai's conversation was replaying itself in her head.

 _'Recruited?'_ Tenten played with the thought in her head. _'Like...for a movie or something?'_

"Konohamaru!" Somebody yelled, snapping Tenten out of her thoughts.

"Naruto-nii-chan!"

Tenten saw a blonde boy running towards them and he came to a stop right in front of them panting.

"Tenten-san!" He yelled again, as if she were not standing two feet in front of him. "Looks like I'm not the only one late today, dattebayo."

Tenten nodded at him and they continued walking. Genma didn't seem to mind his additional charge, having met the boy on numerous occasions.

Konohamaru looked up to the boy - for the wrong reasons. Naruto was notorious for being a troublemaker. And as it was, Konohamaru had always been very eager to follow in his footsteps. Even to the point of landing his butt into the principal's office with Hiruzen in more than one occasion, and he greets him with a smile on his face and another story of what ridiculous prank that he and Naruto had pulled.

Oddly enough, Hiruzen has taking a liking to the blonde too. Tenten could see why though. If anything, Naruto has the qualities that Tenten would always admire. Despite his being uncontrollable and loud, she respects his bravery, his fearlessness in doing whatever he does and his determination to never give up.

Be that as it may, they weren't really friends. Just classmates, more than anything. It was better than the way her other classmates treated him; they avoided him like the plague. His brash attitude and knack for troublemaking drove off any potential friends. At least Tenten did not abhor him like the others.

"We're here!" Naruto yelled.

"We can see that," Genma snorted before quickly ushering them inside.

As soon as their caretaker was out of earshot, "Sheesh, what's got his panties in a bunch?" Asked Naruto.

Tenten shrugged her shoulders but Konohamaru snickered behind his fingers. "We-" "You" "-think he tried to put the moves on Aunt Kurenai only to get turned down again," he said, ignoring Tenten who was shaking her head.

With a roll of her eyes Tenten pushed Konohamaru in the direction of his classroom and pulled on Naruto's wrist towards theirs, running.

They were panting as they reached their classroom and Tenten immediately released her hold on the Uzumaki's wrist. "Tsk, tsk. Late again. You both should put your studies first before meeting up for 'dates'." Their homeroom teacher, Ms. Ho, said in the her snooty tone, the light bouncing off her rectangular specs were hiding her cat-like eyes. "Ten-year-olds these days, acting like teenagers," she grumbled under her breath.

Tenten felt her face heat up, "N-no! It's not l-like that!"

"You're crazy old bat!Did you hit your head on the door this morning? You've gone completely nuts!" Naruto yelled, red in the face and avoiding eye contact with her. The rest of their classmates snickered at the two. Tenten felt her face flush even more.

"See me after school for your punishment." She glared at Naruto. "Both of you," she added whilst looking at Tenten as well, glasses lowered.

"B-but," she sputtered. Of all the times she was late, never had she been punished for it before besides the occasional reprimanding.

As she was sputtering her argument, Ms. Ho already turned towards the board and as if she wasn't hearing anything, she spoke again in her snooty voice, "Well? Why are you just standing there? Go back to your seats!"

Still flushing, Tenten made her way through her snickering classmates and towards her seat near the window. From the corner of her eye, she saw Naruto do the same, except he was stomping his way to his assigned seat two tables behind her. Ms. Ho stopped her writing to glare at the both of them before barking at the class to hush up.

Tenten groaned and was tempted to bury her head in her arms but decided against it, lest their insufferable sensei think she was slacking off.

oOo

Other than her morning episode with Ms. Ho, the morning passed by as usual - dreadfully boring. Tenten was glad to be seated in her usual table near the playgrounds. She felt her stomach growl, she completely forgot about her breakfast on the way to school; she was too preoccupied by Genma's silent attitude to eat.

That was why, instead of using her valuable recess time in the jungle gym with her friends, Tenten was munching - borderline devouring - the rice cakes and sesame dumplings Kurenai prepared for her. From her spot, Tenten could see Konohamaru playing with a snot-covered kid with glasses, Udon, she recalled the name. Her friends were on the other side of the playground, playing hopscotch. They opted to go off as she ate.

Gulping down a mouthful of water from her canteen, she noticed too late when Naruto was making his way towards her. She raised an eyebrow in question. Usually the blonde would use this time to prank someone, she automatically became suspicious. It didn't help that she was being punished because of the loudmouth as well.

"Hey Tenten-san," he called. He looked almost sheepish, Tenten narrowed her eyes at him, not saying anything.

Naruto scratched the back of his head "Ne, sorry for getting you into trouble earlier. I didn't think that she would be handing out punishments, dattebayo." He looked at her sheepishly.

Guilt suddenly ate at Tenten's stomach as she saw the sincerity in his actions, she let her eyebrows relax and her gaze soften. She gave him a cheerful smile instead, "It's okay Uzumaki-kun."

He gave the air a fist pump and exclaimed, "Awesome, dattebayo!"

"By the way!" He yelled at her face, "Call me Naruto!"

Tenten nodded her head, unused to his loudness at close distance. "Hai, Naruto."

"Teehee," he smiled at her cheekily before turning around to look at the people at the playground, hands on his hips. Despite the bright smile on his face, Tenten sensed something about the blonde. He didn't look sad but there was something in his eyes, in his stance that was bugging her as she looked at him, really looked at him, for the first time.

"Ne," she surprised herself as she started a conversation with the blonde but a thought would not go away from her mind. He turned to face her. "Why don't I ever see you play during recess?"

Tenten saw his eyes widen in her question before going back to the slits they were always in when he smiled, "They don't really like me very much." He told her the same way a child their age would announce to her parents that she got high marks on a test. Next thing, she was looking at his back again, her dumplings forgotten.

He was always so cheerful, always beaming. It never occured to her that he didn't have friends aside from Konohamaru, who has his own group of friends without the blonde.

Her mouth started saying things of their own accord. "Would you like to eat lunch with me?"

Naruto looked at her again in suprise, "Wouldn't your friends be mad at you for hanging around me?"

She shook her head and smiled, "Nah, they wanted to play and left me here instead."

The blonde didn't seem to believe her and tried to dissuade her another time, "I didn't bring any lunch and I don't have money to buy one."

Tenten glanced at the handful of rice cakes she had left. "We can share mine, I think I have more than enough."

Naruto looked at her suspiciously, eyes narrowed and lips semi-pouted, even as he slumped at the stone bench in front of her. He looked down at the food on the table and only then did he let his usual smile grace his lips once more as a sudden hunger overcame him.

Before he could reach the dumplings, however, Tenten slapped his hand, "I get the sesame dumplings, you get the rice cakes." She glared at him, her ten-year-old self not generous enough to share her favorite food.

"Aww," he whined, "But rice cakes are so boring." He tried to reach for a dumpling again but Tenten was faster than him and she raised the container full of dumplings out of his reach.

Naruto pouted and settled himself on a rice cake instead. Tenten lowered the container and kept it close to her as she greedily ate her dumplings.

"Ne, don't you have ramen?"

Tenten looked at him weirdly.

 _"No."_

oOo

"Two weeks?!"

"Yes, Mr. Uzumaki. Two weeks." Ms. Ho replied, nose high in the air as she pushed her rectangular specs up the bridge of her nose.

After their last class, Tenten and Naruto went back to their homeroom teacher for their punishment

As it turned out, Ms. Ho wasn't very forgiving. They haven't even got to their apologizing-have-mercy-on-us act when the cruel teacher had dished out their activities for penance.

They were to clean different parts of the school after class everyday for two weeks. It sucked.

"Also," she added. Tenten could see a smirk threatening to pull through the strict facade. "You shall be accompanied by the new janitor, Mr. Zabuza. You'll see him outside, get acquainted with him right now."

Tenten took it as a sign of their dismissal. Sharply exhaling, she turned around and grabbed her blonde companion by the sleeve of his shirt and left the room. She haven't even uttered a single word, much less a word of goodbye. A great breezed must've passed by, making the door slam shut when they barely left the room.

 _'I'm starting to hate that witch,'_ she inwardly seethed.

"Hey! Hey! Don't take your anger out on me!"

"Oh, sorry."

She had unconsciously clawed at his shoulder when her hand tightened around his shirt.

They were walking down the hallway to the janitor's room was located. Naruto was rubbing his shoulder where she had dug her fingers on, adjusting the strap of his backpack.

"Don't worry about it," he said. Tenten gave him a sheepish smile that the blonde waved off.

"I never really liked that old bat. I mean, sure, I insulted her but come on! Two weeks? That's too much." Naruto raised both his hands in exasperation.

Tenten sighed. "Try not to drag me in, the next time you call a teacher an old witch," she said to him, hypocritically shaking her head.

"I already apologized for that!" Naruto exclaimed.

Tenten continued to shake her head at him. Never mind that she thought the same about her teacher a few moments ago, at least she didn't say it out loud.

'Really, he needs more tact,' she thought again hypocritically, this time she said it to him aloud. Her grandfather had once said that she herself had a tact of a sledgehammer, whatever that meant.

Naruto snorted from beside her. "I call 'em, like I see 'em."

Tenten was about to sigh again but stopped in the middle of it. Down the hallway, just exiting a classroom was the new janitor, pushing his trolly of supplies.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled, calling out the middle-aged man's attention. Tenten felt a chill down her spine when the man fixed his steady eyes right at them.

"You the troublemakers, aren't ya?" he drawled. His voice was deep and low and he had a slang when he spoke.

The both of them nodded their head, one vigorous, the other hesitant.

"Tch," the man shook his head and started pushing his trolly towards the main hallway. "Your snobby sensei said," Naruto snickered while Tenten's lips quirked up a bit, the tension before seemed to disaparate, if only a little. The man smirked at them before continuing, "that you start tomorrow, told me to tell you that you need to tell your parents for the extra two hours."

They didn't have the time to groan at the number of hours when he asked, "What're your names?"

"My name's Naruto Uzumaki, dattebayo!"

Semi-amused and semi-annoyed, Tenten realized that his voice went a few decibels louder when he speaks of his name. She didn't notice the janitor turn towards her for her own.

She jumped slightly on her feet whem he suddenly addressed her, "Kid, name?"

Tenten felt slightly hesitant in giving him that pertinent information. She was told to always be wary of strangers (disaparated tension aside), the shiny-haired man from years ago was her only exception.

But the janitor seemed to be expecting an answer and he looked like he was getting impatient.

Hesitantly, she said, "Tenten."

The janitor raised an eyebrow, waiting for a last name. When it appeared that he wasn't getting any, he narrowed his eyes at her slightly. Tenten refused to acknowledge the way her hair stood on its ends. From the corner of her eye, she saw Naruto observing them, confused.

She only released a breath when the man shrugged and returned to pushing his trolly. They were nearing the main entrance. "Call me Zabuza-san. See me tomorrow after class at the cafeteria," he said turning the opposite direction from the main doors.

"Oi! Tenten-nee-chan!" The girl in question snapped her head towards the doors. Just beyond it was Konohamaru, giving her the stink-eye.

"You took so looong," whined Konohamaru. Instantly though, he brightened up at the sight of the Uzumaki. "Naruto-nii-chan!"

"Konohamaru!" Naruto greeted in return.

"Ne, ne! What're you up to? What held you up? Did you put thumb tacks on Ms. Ho's chair? You spilled Mr. Wataru's coffee all over his papers? Oh I know! You flooded the second floor again, didn't you? I heard the old janitor retired already, did you already give the new one the opening ceremony?" Konohamaru wiggled his eyebrows at the insinuation. He was beaming with excitement as he looked up on Naruto's proud face. Before the blonde could make up a tale though,

"Actually," it was Tenten who brought Konohamaru to reality.

"Aww that sucks," said Konohamaru once she finished telling the story.

"Heh. Just you wait. That old/new (whatever) janitor doesn't know what's coming to him," said Naruto, his goofy version of a diabolical look was showing. Konohamaru mirrored the expression as well, both of them were rubbing their hands together in what could only lead to trouble.

She was about to tell them off when, "Wait," Tenten realized something, "That was you on the second floor?" She asked, head cocking to the side.

Naruto made a show of rubbing his nose and running a hand through his hair in mock modesty. "Why, yes. Yes, it was me."

"But, the only bathroom in the second floor is the girl's bathroom," she aimed a glare at the boy.

Naruto was quick to dodge her eyes and looked towards the horizon. "Where's Genma? Isn't he always here to fetch you or something?" Naruto asked, quickly changing the subject.

Konohamaru scrunched his nose at the mention of their sitter. He pointed towards the school gates where a small stall or shack was situated, "He's there. He's chatting up the school guard."

"I didn't know that they knew each other."

Konohamaru shrugged his narrow shoulders, "Meh. Who knows. He's been taking us to school for years. Maybe they became friends."

'Weird,' thought Tenten but did not dawdle on the subject.

Instead she motioned for their little group to head towards the gates to meet up with their sitter.

"Genma-nii-chan!" She hollered, the three of them were wildly waving their arms to catch his attention.

Genma beckoned them over and from Tenten's perspective, he was wrapping up his conversation with the school guard.

By the time the three of them reached the small guard house, they were saying their farewells.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, Genma." The guard said, waving his goodbye's at them as well with a small smile.

Tenten returned his smile and wave energetically, "Bye Uncle!" She saw the other two do the same.

Before Tenten turned to the direction of her house she saw the man scratch the back of his spiky hair. He was mumbling something along the lines of "Bah, I'm too young to be called an uncle."

She laughed lightly and jogged to catch up with the three guys were already a ways ahead of her.

"Tenten," Genma almost looked patronizing, which was a first for him.

"What?" She asked, defensive.

"Ne, ne. Genma-nii-chan. Tenten-nee-chan got into trouble~" sang Konohamaru.

The sitter cocked an eyebrow in question, his toothpick pointing south.

"I didn't even do anything." Tenten pouted, making an innocent face and raised both her hands up in surrender. Her eyes snapped towards the blonde who was inching away from the group.

"It was his fault," she accused, but there was no real ill-feeling to her tone. She said it like a fact.

Naruto smiled at Genma cheekily with just the smallest amount of sheepishness, scratching the back of his head. "Oh would you look at that," he looked at his wrist with the non-existent watch. "It's getting late, I'll go now dattebayo. Ja ne!"

Genma, Konohamaru and Tenten were left to trail their eyes on the blonde who was sprinting towards the opposite direction of his house.

"So how bad was it?" Asked Genma as they continued their trek back home.

"He called our teacher an old bat and told her she was bonkers." A smile formed on Tenten lips as she said so. Two weeks cleaning aside, it all seemed funny now.

Konohamaru proceeded to defend his idol, saying things like "Hey, she is an old bat, you said so too one time!"

But Genma chuckled slightly, shaking his head like he expected nothing less from the blonde. "Typical."

The three of them turned a corner towards their street. The sky was a combination of pink, orange and blue hues.

"So how many hours after school are we talking about?"

"Two."

"Heesh," said Genma. "That's gonna be a pain.

"Does that mean that I have to stay after school for two hours too?" Konohamaru asked, scrunching his nose at the thought.

Tenten shook her head, kicking a stray pebble on her path. "I don't think so, nii-chan can just take you home and return for me when my two hours are done, right?" She looked at Genma for confirmation.

Genma shrugged and simply said, "We'll see."

 **A/N:** For the past two weeks I've been rereading works of wonderful FFN authors (NessieGG, Goldberry, AquariusGaluxy, KNO, Nokito-chan, Yahboobeh, and GiadaLuna's most recent fics) and I was humbled to say the least. I saw that my writing has a lot more room for improvement. Like a loooot. I realized that the only way I could improve was to keep on writing. I felt like sharing that. :))


	3. Chapter 2: Unfortunate Incidents

_**A/N:**_ _Yay! I got two new reviewers! Thanks to PuppyLoveCharm, Reiyaame and always to misspandalily for reviewing. Your feedback was very much appreciated!_

 **Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto**

Chapter 2: Unfortunate Incidents

The following day after class, Tenten and Naruto headed to the cafeteria to meet up with Zabuza-san, the new janitor. Once they neared the double doors, the shabby looking janitor was already waiting for them on the other side, trolley of supplies ever by his side.

Tenten looked around to see just how much cleaning the area would need.

The floors need to be swept and mopped. Various plastic utensils were littering the area. Tenten scrunched her nose in disgust. The thought of having to touch the icky containers and chopsticks that were slathered by other people's saliva made her sick. Not to mention the tables that needed to be wiped clean from leftover food.

She made a face, but other than that, there wasn't anything else to do. Hopefully. Zabuza-san looks like he's in a bad mood.

"Blondie," called Zabuza. "You wipe those tables and turn over the chairs on top of them once it dries, then collect all the garbage and put it away. I assume you know where the dumpsters are."

The janitor was glaring at him and Naruto was glaring right back. Tenten guessed that he already gave the man his version of a welcoming ceremony.

"And you, buns," he snapped his eyes towards her. "You sweep the floors. After that, sweep it again for strays. Make sure to get everything, even the ones under the tables. Understand?"

Tenten merely nodded her head in response.

"After all of that is done, both of you mop," he was glaring at them, "Three times."

Naruto's glare lost its ferocity and opted for gaping in shock. Already, he was opening his mouth at the load. The cafeteria wasn't exactly small.

"I want this area squeaky clean by the time I return," with one last glare, he grabbed everything they would need from his trolley and handed it to them. With the sound of the double doors slamming shut, he was out of the room. "Tch. I can't believe he blames me for those overturned dumpsters this morning. Honestly, like I would do something as boring as that, dattebayo," Naruto mumbled.

Tenten narrowed her eyes at him. The blonde looked at her, gobsmacked. "What?" He asked, incredulous. "You think I did that?"

She glared at him fully this time, "I thought I said not to drag me with you when you do something stupid."

She had a bad enough a day as it was, her friends were starting to get on her back for hanging out with him. Granted, she actually preferred his company but really, she doesn't deserve to be grilled and sauteed just because of her new found friendship with the boy.

And so Tenten felt herself justified to be mad at him right now, if only superficially. Her cheeks puffed out in annoyance. Not waiting for a reply, she grabbed a broom and bonked him on the head with the wooden end.

"But I didn't do anything!" He said unconvincingly, massaging his new sore spot but Tenten was already sweeping the floor on the other side of the room.

"Yeah right!" She yelled across her shoulder and continued sweeping the marble floors.

"What happened to guilty until proven innocent crap, 'ttebayo." he grumbled under his breath.

"It's innocent until proven guilty, idiot." Tenten corrected him.

Naruto only hmphed in response.

"I didn't do it!" He yelled again, for emphasis.

Tenten rolled her eyes and scoffed, busying herself in finishing everything within the given time limit.

It was actually harder than she thought. There were puddles of spilled liquids on the floor and when she accidentally sweeped on a wet spot, the broom would be all sticky and she would have to shake it dry to sweep again. And the broom was taller than her. The only upside was she got to annoy the Uzumaki by shaking the broom near his person, making the icky stuff catch on his clothes.

In the midst of sweeping the floor, dust found its way near her face and she sneezed uncontrollably for two minutes, the Uzumaki sneered from the other side of the room, "Hah! Serves you right!"

She was about to retort something about shoving the broom in his face ("And let's see who's the one sneezing now huh,") when she heard something tumble and crash inside the kitchen. Her thoughts halted and she strained her ear to what the lunch lady and her helpers were saying.

"Who the hell flipped the table?!" Tenten guessed that the roaring was from the lunch lady.

"It wasn't me, ma'am." Answered a meek voice.

"Nor was it I," this voice was the opposite with its aloofness.

"What? A steel table just happened to collapse because of a sudden gust of wind?" Barked the lunch lady, sarcasm coating her words.

Tenten decided to turn a deaf ear once the woman started to spout out curses at her ("Incompetent, useless-") helpers.

On the right most corner, she heard Naruto snicker.

"Someone's got a temper problem." He continued to snicker as he wiped icky leftovers from a table and dumped it all on a plastic bag slung on his wrist.

He couldn't have done it, could he? He was right there the whole time, he actually teased her mere moments ago so it couldn't have been him.

"Hey, it wasn't _me_ alright." Naruto interupted her thoughts, suddenly near her with a cheeky smile.

"But I'll tell you this though, I now have an awesome prank for tomorrow, dattebayo, that janitor's going down." Naruto giggled his evil laugh and turned his back to her before she could reprimand him.

Tenten sighed, she couldn't really stop even if she wanted to. There's no avoiding the additional work load in the next thirteen days. It almost seems unfair when Naruto was almost done with his tasks.

oOo

"Why are you always with him?" A black haired girl asked in disdain. She was at her usual spot in the playground's stone bench, open bento at hand. It looks like Aunt Kurenai was in a good mood when Tenten woke up earlier than usual. She packed her a pork tonkatsu rice bento with vegetables and two pieces of sweet anko dumplings on the side. Tenten could not enjoy it however, in the presence of her supposed friends that she hadn't seen much of lately, even during class.

She knew who they were talking about and Tenten was irked inside yet she still asked, feigning confusion. "What're you talking about Yui?"

Her other friend answered her with a scowl. "Ugh. That loser you always eat lunch with. You won't hang with us but you'd eat with him?" Her other friend said, Yuri, in a more snobby voice.

Tenten shrugged off her accusations, "I always invite you to eat lunch with me, you never accepted."

"We told you, we're on a diet! That's why we don't eat lunch. My sister said that if we eat too much, we'd get fat," said Yuri in her know-it-all voice that she used when talking about what "My sister said" without fail.

"Yeah. Do you want us to get fat?" Ever the kiss-up Yui, Tenten thought.

From what the brunette could gather in Yuri's "My sister said" talks (and she had talked plenty), her sister was popular in high school and Yuri, in extension Yui who greedily listened to anything she had to say, strived to be just as so. As a result, the girls would always act like they were older and know better that it gets on Tenten's nerves. They would push her in stuff she had no interest in like painting her nails and talking about boys. Yuri would admonish her every time she made a face when talking about "Ranma! Isn't he just the cutest? Squeeee."

Honestly, she was only ten, _they_ were only ten. Why were they already talking about boys and make up and being popular? Who cares? Shouldn't that be for older people?

Tenten rolled her eyes when Yuri once again started on her "My sister said" rants.

She shouldn't have done so it seems because when Yuri caught sight of it, she stopped talking and narrowed her eyes.

"You know what," Yuri snapped and Tenten had the urge to laugh as her cheeks puffed up and her face became red. It was her tell-tale sign that she was angry and the bun-haired would always find it funny.

"It looks like someone doesn't appreciate my sister's wisdom," Yuri said, crossing her arms like she wasn't talking about Tenten at all. She was further reinforced when Yui gasped in the felony of it all. Yuri smirked, feeling important. She was waiting for Tenten's reaction.

"When you have nothing good to say, don't say anything at all." That was what her grandpa told her.

Right now, Tenten wanted to say a lot of stuff that would fall under 'nothing good'. And so she merely gave Yuri a blank look.

The two were locked in a staredown. From the corner of her eye, Tenten could see Yui watching them the same way she would watch a tennis match.

A few moments passed by and Yuri's face turned a dark shade of maroon and stomped away. But before she could get far, she turned around and yelled "You are so out of this group! Go and hangout with that Uzumaki and form your own loser group!" With that she turned around and stomped off.

It was amazing that no one cared enough to look at them, she was thankful that her spot was in the least occupied corner of the playground and that she didn't eat her lunch at the cafeteria, where it's more crowded.

As if she did not just lose her friends, Tenten eagerly opened her bento and stuffed her face with a slice of pork tonkatsu, her weight be damned.

She was eating halfway through her meal when Naruto strode towards her, a mischievous grin plastered on his face.

As always, Tenten noticed, she gave him a glare in greeting. "What did you do now?" She asked warily whilst taking out the rice cakes she refused to eat and gave it to him.

All the more suspicious, the Uzumaki shrugged his shoulders and bit one of her offered rice cakes.

Still wary, Tenten continued with her meal all the while keeping an eye on the notorious trouble maker.

When she finally removed her eyes on him however, he erupted into giggles despite the mouthful of sticky rice. Extremely bothered, Tenten leaned away from him though still sitted, she asked, "What're you-!" She needn't ask however because the answer presented itself as soon as she opened her mouth.

A resonating 'BOOM' was heard from inside the building. One of the rooms, Tenten knew to be the kitchens, was clouded in blue smoke.

"UZUMAKI!" A ferocious roar echoed from the building, reaching even their ears despite being the farthest from the building.

The two doors that allowed the students entrance into the building from the playground slammed open, revealing the shockingly blue-faced lunch lady.

Her eyes was surveying the area, Tenten prayed that her eye sight was as bad as her thick glasses presumed it would be. With no luck whatsoever, she somehow caught sight of them, Tenten blamed the tuft of Naruto's blonde hair for making them that much more noticeable.

The next moment, the lunch lady's thundering footsteps were making their way towards them, and from upclose, the blue in her face and what Tenten suspected to be her angry red flush made her look an unsightly shade of purple. She would have laughed if she didn't feel like she was gonna be run over by a rampaging bull.

Said bull came into a stop right in front of their table. The elder woman, visibly seething, locked eyes with the blonde who remained unblinking and unintimidated.

With a growl, the lunch lady lifted him by the collar with surprising strength and Naruto finally felt beads of sweat form on his forehead.

"Uhm," he managed to mutter before his voice was drowned out by the absolute rage of the woman who appeared to give dragons a run for their money.

"Don't even try to deny it, boy! I knew it was you!" She screeched at his face, while she turned a deeper shade of violet.

"I saw you," the lunch lady smirked as she unceremoniously dropped him on the ground, but she did not relinquish the hold on his collar. "I friggin saw you, you little turd. You poured that...that...whatever that blue thing was, in the boiling water before it exploded."

The old woman looked to be triumphant but Tenten found something quite odd and as usual, her nosy personality (despite the nagging feeling that she shouldn't be voluntarily involving herself in Naruto's troubles again) refused to back down like always.

"Before the explosion?" She asked, curiosity making its way on the surface. The lunch lady didn't really appreciate it, like always.

"Yes but it's not really any of your business is it, missy?" She sneered at her. "Unless you were in cahoots with this boy and want your ass handed to you by the principal, I suggest you stick your nose somewhere else."

She wasn't really hearing anything the lady was saying, thick headed as she was when her mind was focused on something.

"You said that you saw him before the explosion," Tenten stated more than asked.

Irritated, the lunch lady was ready for a long, loud, sermon when unruffled Tenten opened her mouth once again, "But the explosion happened like two minutes ago."

"Would you just get to the damn point."

"It can't have been him," Tenten said, very sure of herself as she strongly met the lunch lady's glare.

"He was with me for almost half an hour now. We were just eating even before the explosion, so it couldn't have been him."

The lunch lady regarded her for a minute, then her eyes strayed to her open bento and then to Naruto's cheek where bits of rice were stuck even as he frantically nodded as if to convince the old woman that, yes, he was innocent. Her grip on his collar shook before she promptly released him with a shove.

She released a sharp exhale from her nose and gritted out, "Fine. But once I see a single blonde hair in my kitchen, I'm coming after you Uzumaki."

With that, she turned around and stomped back towards the building, making the students scamper around to avoid her, "What're you brats looking at?! Get out of my way! I have to find that good for nothing janitor."

Tenten shifted her gaze to her blonde friend who was straightening his collar.

"Gee, thanks for backing me up there, Tenten. Thought I was a goner, dattebayo." He said, rubbing his cheek to remove the rice before giving her a grin.

Tenten hummed and sat down again. "Just because I saved your butt doesn't mean I don't think- don't know," Tenten corrected herself, "That it was you behind all that."

"Eh?" Naruto asked in disbelief, "But you just said it, I was here with you."

Tenten hummed again and ate her lunch.

"Somehow, I don't think it's a case of whether or not _you_ were here with me." She eyed him for any reactions.

Naruto just shrugged and stuffed his face again with the bland rice cakes. "Whatever you say," he said nonchalantly, but beads of sweat made its way to his forehead.

Tenten paid no heed to it, besides, if what Yuri and Yui said earlier was true then Naruto was her only friend now. It's not that bad, she thought. The blonde was very companiable, Yuri could suck dirt for all she cared.

Oddly enough, she did. From the swings, a cry was heard with Yuri face down on the worn earth; the swing seat hanging lopsided from a single chain instead of two, the other holding it up had snapped in half.

"Well, someone has to loose a few pounds," Naruto snickered as he surveyed the scene from where they sat. Tenten busted out laughing, he's not _that_ bad to be around with.

oOo

Tenten all but slumped into her seat at their dining table, her muscles felt like lead, weighing her down.

Grandpa raised an eyebrow at the tired groan she made before slamming her forehead smack-dab on the table.

"Dear girl," Hiruzen said, amused. "Why on earth do you look like the living dead?" Tenten muttered a reply but it was muffled by her arms.

"Do speak up when you're talked to Tenten," Hiruzen patronized but the amused smile never left his face as Tenten raised her head and pouted, back sloppily resting against the chair and her arms crossed defiantly.

"The stupid janitor had us clean the disgusting fountain, Grandpa!" She threw her hands into the air in the unfairness of it all. "It smells horrible and it was slippery! Even Genma-nii-chan complained that I smelled the walk home and he never complains!"

After her outburst, Tenten deflated back into her chair, slouching. Only then did she hear the chuckles coming from her grandpa _and_ Aunt Kurenai, who was in the kitchen, and from what Tenten could see from the other side of the breakfast bar, stirring up some soup while something was sizzling beside it.

"Grandpa," she whined but Hiruzen only chuckled even more. "Aunt Kurenai?" she turned towards her ever-supporting aunt for support, but she too had a grin on her face.

"You cleaned that moss-infested excuse for a fountain? My, I don't think that has been done in decades!" Hiruzen exclaimed.

"Grandpa," she whined again, giving her old man her best puppy-dog eyes. "Can't you do something? You're favorite grandchild is being used for slave labor! My history sensei said that that is not allowed by the law!"

From the kitchen, clinking of glass was heard. "Glad to see you're paying attention in your classes, Tenten," she said with a smile whilst ladling soup into serving bowls.

Tenten pouted again and exclaimed, "That's not the point!"

From the head of the table, Hiruzen waved off her complaints, lit his pipe and inhaled. Releasing smoke, he gave the girl a smile, "Nonsense dear, I think this extra activity is a brilliant idea. It builds up character."

"But-but...I'm only ten!"

"All the better for you to start early, plus I think it's a nice way of exercising discipline. You need a lot of that, no? Surely, next time you'd think twice before allowing yourself to be tardy for school," Kurenai quipped from the kitchen, her tone had the motherly I-told-you-so ring to it that sours Tenten's mood.

"But-"

"Or insulting a teacher," Kurenai added before she could get another word out.

"That wasn't me!" Tenten was quick to defend herself. Kurenai just shrugged, "Tell me you were not thinking what your friend said aloud for you and I'll take my words back," she said nonchalantly, scooping up some rice from the rice cooker.

Sliding further into her seat, Tenten sighed. "Point taken."

Hiruzen exhaled another mouthful of smoke before extinguishing the flame and tapping out the ashes that accumulated in his pipe. "That's called prejudice, Tenten," he said, voice back to its husky monotone.

"What is?" she asked, anger forgotten. She could feel another life lesson coming her way but she could never actually say that she dreaded it. Her curiosity would always win anyways.

"Textbook speaking, prejudice is an opinion without adequate basis*," he said.

Tenten scrunched her nose, lacking comprehension, "What?" she asked inmediately. She saw her grandpa's mouth twitch slightly and his facial expression turned a tiny bit more pleasant. "What I mean is that you shouldn't judge a person so quickly."

"But I never judged her," Tenten said.

"Didn't you say Ms. Ho was, I quote, 'An old witch feeding off of her student's happiness'?" Hiruzen gave her a pointed look to which Tenten felt her face redden.

"Y-You heard that?" she asked, sheepish.

"The walls have ears," her grandpa said but Kurenai had appeared from behind her and began to set the table. "Or maybe it was because you yelled it for the whole house to hear, Ten." She said, a small smile to her face as she went over her to place a steaming bowl of miso soup in front of her.

Now Tenten felt even more sheepish, and unsurprisingly, guilt had found its way in her stomach. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"You shouldn't apologize to us, Tenten." Her grandpa said and Kurenai nodded adding, "You should apologize to Ms. Ho."

Tenten felt herself grow cold at the thought of apologizing to said old witch. "But I already tried, she didn't even hear what I have to say."

"Then you try again," Hiruzen said without skipping a beat and that was that.

She slumped back into her seat and sighed, Kurenai ruffled her hair in response before jerking her head in the direction of the stairs. "Go up to Konohamaru's room and tell him dinner's ready."

oOo

The next morning, Tenten made extreme effort into waking up early. She even went as far as taking the liberty to shake Konohamaru awake before rushing into rhe bathroom, if only to ensure that they were actually on time for school.

During their walk to school, Genma went back to taking up the rear, almost suspicious of her chipper personality so early in the morning.

"Alright, out with it," Genma asked, not caring for subtlety.

She noticed Konohamaru give her a look, curious as well.

"What do you mean?" she asked, careful not to look any of them in the eye and instead focusing on the sidewalk. Konohamaru scoffed from beside her.

"Please, stop acting dumb. Just spit it out. Why are we so early?" he said grouchily, obviously in a foul mood for waking up earlier than usual.

Tenten glared at him but succumbed nonetheless. "Grandpa and aunt Kurenai told me to apologize to Ms. Ho. Said that what I did was predujuice."

Konohamaru's forehead crinkled and Genma choked on his spit before he managed a short laugh.

"I think what they meant was 'prejudice' midget," Genma said with a smirk. Tenten rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

"Hey what does that mean?" Konohamaru asked, clueless.

Not patient enough to teach vocabulary words, Genma dismissed him with a wave of his hand and said, "Go ask your teacher, that's their job, not mine."

"But I wanna know now!" Konohamaru stopped in the midst of their walking and stomped his feet not unusual to bratty seven-year-olds such as himself. But the two of them simply walked passed him and paid him no heed.

"Hurry up, will you? It's not everyday that we're this early," Tenten nagged without even looking at him. She gave another roll of her eyes when she heard him make an indignant 'Hmph!' sound.

When they reached the school gates, Konohamaru bumped his shoulder against Tenten's upper arm, sadly not tall enough to reach her shoulders. Nonetheless, Tenten hissed at him and the boy likewise stuck out his tongue and gave her the stinkeye.

Making a show of bunching her sleeves as if preparing for a brawl, Tenten started to march towards the little imp, if only Genma hadn't made a grab for her collar. Still, she stretched her arms out to reach for the rascal that was quickly running up the stairs and into the building to escape her.

"Hey! Hey! Let me go!" she yelled and tried to scramble free once her cousin was out of sight.

With a shrug, Genma released her and she stumbled a few steps forward from the sudden loss of balance.

"Don't cause too much trouble," he warned. "It'd be a pain if you stayed here even later."

Tenten huffed and straightened out her clothes and dusted them off. "I won't, I won't. See you later, Genma-nii-chan," she said before turning around to enter the school.

She saw him give her a sloppy salute as goodbye and gave a light wave herself.

Tenten purposely slowed her steps once inside the building. Each foot felt like dead weight and lifting them up seemed even more like a chore when entering the hallway to the very familiar classroom.

There was an extreme lack of students inside the classroom, it appears that Tenten was, for the first time ever, the first to arrive. Be that as it may, the teacher still arrived before the student.

Ms. Ho was sitting at her desk, rectangular spectacles hanging off of her nose which was buried in a book. She did not look up from where she was reading and so Tenten gave a fake cough to garner her attention.

Almost painstakingly slow for the ten-year old, Ms. Ho lowered her book and lifted her eyes to meet hers, eyebrows quirked in that same snobby way that Tenten had been accustomed to.

Mentally cringing, Tenten gulped and proceeded to stutter out what she had to say.

"A-ano," she diverted her eyes to the floor, if only not to loose her nerve. "I just realized that," hesitating, she wetted her lips before continuing. "That I haven't really apologized for that time with Naruto," she sneaked a look at her teacher whose face was as passive as when she was reading her book.

"So-uhh. I'd just like to say sorry," she clasped her hands behind her back and grounded her shoe-covered toe onto the floor in the nervous way kids her age usually do when admitting guilt. "So sorry, sensei," she mumbled at last.

A few moments had passed and still Tenten had not heard nor felt any reaction, or anything at all, from the woman. Skeptically, she tore her gaze from the ground and saw that Ms. Ho went back to reading. Awkwardly scratching the back of her neck, she shuffled her feet restlessly before just opting to hightail it out of there and pretend it never happened and arrive late like she usually would.

Before she could lift one foot forward, Ms. Ho called her name whilst turning a page, still not looking away from the words of her book. So Tenten stood there frozen, foot oddly bended slightly at the knee from her failed escape. Still, she strained an ear for Ms. Ho's surprisingly tender voice.

"Thank you for applogizing, Tenten," Ms. Ho smiled at her book. It was tiny, miniscule even and so frighteningly rare that the ten-year-old was all the more eager to get out of the room if only to see if there were pigs flying outside.

"I appreciate it," Ms. Ho added.

Mind already numb from the early morning,nodded absent-mindedly and dazedly, she proceeded to her desk.

When she was about to pull back her chair, Ms. Ho's voice resonated again, her name rolling off of her tongue in her usual snooty tone inside the otherwise silent room. This time, she was looking at her over the rectangular specs. "If you ever come this early more frequently, I can assure that your grades here would climb tremendously," her sensei looked at her, eyebrow raised and expectant.

Still tongue-tied from earlier, she merely gave a half-hearted smile and a nod. It seemed to suffice as Ms. Ho returned to her readings.

The minutes trickled by and, slowly but surely, so did her classmates. Unsurprisingly, Yuri and Yui huffed at the sight of her and ignored their usual sitting arrangement in favor of the table situated farthest from her. Tenten really didn't mind the loss much, she actually only now appreciated the quiet and the occasional conversation from her other classmates as they waited for the class to start.

oOo

The rest of the week had passed by in a blur and suddenly it was Friday. Her cleaning punishment became lighter in loads. Either that or she just got used to it. The janitor still gave them an ever watchful eye as they come across eachother but otherwise, nothing really much happened, and for that, Tenten was very much grateful. The fountain cleaning, although only small, was the only real challenge Zabuza-san had come up with. After that, they were back to cleaning classrooms and school facilities.

"Oh my gosh!" she squealed, releasing her hold on the broomstick and letting it fall to the ground with a clatter as she bounced at the ball of her heels.

"What? What is it?" Naruto asked on the other side of the swingset, curious.

They were assigned at the playground, and their only task was to sweep the fallen leaves into a pile and wait for Zabuza-san to return. Halfway down to their sweeping, Tenten felt her stomach stir violently.

 _Gurgle. Gurlge._

"Ooooh, my gosh. I have to go the bathroom!" Frantically, she scrambled around for her backpack and retrieved a washing kit and, without stopping a beat, sprinted her way inside the building, duly ignoring Naruto's rackuous laughter (it seemed that he never grew out of the age where anything related to poo was funny).

'I knew I shouldn't have eaten so many chocolates,' she mentally regretted as she ran to the nearest bathroom, just down the hall from the cafeteria. Never had she been any more ecstatic to see the corner leading to her happy place. Only-BANG!

Tenten found herself bodily smashing into what felt like a brick wall, only louder?

"Watch where you're going you imbecile!" a voice roared above.

Before she could blink the stars from her eyes though, the person already sidestepped her and continued to thunder down the hall from where the brunette just came from.

Shaking her head and pressing a palm to her aching temple, Tenten craned her neck to see just who was that gorilla but- _Gurgle, gurgle._

Jumping to her feet, she practically flew towards the comfort room, almost pulled the door from its hinges and quickly kicked open one of the many empty stalls. Unfastening the button of her shorts, she pulled them down, sat on the toilet and-a satisfied sigh escaped her lips.

oOo

Not fifteen minutes later,Tenten was washing her hands on the sink. On the mirror, she could see the reflection of the window on the topmost part of the ceiling. A gust of wind was blowing the trees from the outside. Unbeknownst to her, she was staring for a while. Something about that wind was..."Strange."

As soon as the word left her lips, she felt a slight breeze pass behind her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood in attention and she was quickly drying her hands at the next second. Her breathing labored and her hands trembling, she opened the bathroom door.

Goosebumps raided her skin and a chill went up her spine. An eerie fog was trickling the halls.

Someone screamed.

It sounded like Naruto.

oOo

 _ **A/N:**_ _I think this was a long time in coming. Haha. Hope you enjoyed it!_

 _*Prejudice. Definition was taken from Merriam Webster Dictionary._


	4. Chapter 3: Awakened

_**A/n:**_ _This was very hard to write. Thank you to those who reviewed and forgive me for the extreme delay!_

 **Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto**

 **Gakuen Alice © Higuchi Tachibana**

* * *

Chapter 3: Awakened

Run. All she did was run. The fog left her unable to see so she just stumbled around aimlessly in the corridors of the school. But the fog did not block out the sounds that echoed in the empty halls.

"What are you doing?!"

"Shut up kid and stay still!"

She could hear Naruto's muffled shouts for help as well as another person's attempts to keep him quiet.

Her breathing was becoming labored and already she was panting. The thick air did not help in helping her catch her breath. Arms about and flailing, she felt for a nearby wall, post, anything to lean on to. Dark spots were obstructing her vision and a feeling of lightheadedness was making her woozy.

"Get away from me, dattebayo!"

The sound was loud and clear and very nearby. It shook Tenten awake and allowed her to focus her vision.

"Naruto," she whispered. Bracing an arm on the wall, Tenten pushed herself off and started to run again.

"Naruto!" She screamed and called out. "Where are you?!"

"Tente-!" His scream was muffled again and the sounds of a struggle between at least five men started to brew.

"Naruto!"

It was a minute or two of frantic calling and running when someone took notice of her.

"Kid!" Someone hissed from behind. Tenten stopped and panted with her small hands on her knees before turning around.

The fog made way for Tenten to see a figure, two figures, running towards her.

"Zabuza-san!"

"Shhh," the janitor hissed and as he came closer, Tenten saw who the other person was.

Hurriedly, she ran towards her and buried her face on the person's stomach.

"Ms. Ho! S-something happened t-to Naruto! I-I can't find him!" She said in hiccups, teary eyed but she did not cry.

"Shhh, it's fine." Ms. Ho said and a shaky hand made its way to hug her close, the other rubbing her back for comfort.

"Zabuza-san will take care of it, won't you?"

Tenten looked up from her position to see the janitor give a firm nod.

"You two, go out through the main entrance. I'll handle this."

"B-but we can't see anything through this fog!" Tenten exclaimed. Besides the small area they're occupying, the entire place was undiscernable.

Zabuza looked to be hesitating for a moment, only staring at the empty space behind them.

As if his vision just cleared, he gestured behind them.

"T-the fog! Y-you...y-you're one of those..." Ms. Ho stuttered.

Tenten looked back and gasped. The fog had cleared behind them showing that they were just a corner away from the main entrance but when she faced the front, the entire area behind Zabuza-san was still filled with fog.

"No matter what you do, stay clear of other people, you hear me?" Zabuza-san's rough voice warned them before turning around to run on the opposite direction.

But before he could get two steps in, he looked back at them with a light glare. "And would you two stop it with the 'fog' shit. This is called a fucking mist."

Horrified, Ms. Ho gasped and covered Tenten's ears. "Language, you are in the presence of a child!"

A heartbeat later, "And it's just the same thing, there's no difference between the two!"

Zabuza rolled his eyes before running towards the playground.

"What did he say?" Tenten asked but was cut off by Ms. Ho hurriedly pulling her by the hand towards the main entrance.

"Don't mind what he said Tenten. We need to rush."

Before she knew it, Tenten was already outside, trodding down the steps of the main entrance.

"Come on. Two at a time!"

"My legs are too short!"

Not stopping for breath, the ten-year old was dragged towards the gates.

As they reached the guard house, the Uncle that was supposed to be there was absent and someone else was keeping watch.

As soon as she saw who it was, Tenten gripped at Ms. Ho's hand and pulled, urging her to just leave.

"She's...she's bad. Let's go!" Tenten whisper-yelled. But the teacher was stubborn and did not listen.

"What're you doing here? The school is under attack, we must leave!" Ms. Ho asked, worried.

The person smirked, a wrinkled hand reaching out to Ms. Ho's shoulder.

"I'm afraid we can't dearie."

"Why not?" Ms. Ho asked, indignant. Her snooty tone returning.

"Well," the lunch lady started, a maniacal gleam in her eye. "We can't have you blabbing to the authorities, now can we?"

"What -" before Ms. Ho could even finish her sentence, the lunch lady grabbed her by the shoulder and at the same time, she managed to push Tenten onto her back on the ground.

Surprised, Tenten only stared wide-eyed as the lunch lady manhandled Ms. Ho into the guard house.

Although obviously overpowered, Ms. Ho kept struggling. Grabbing anything within her reach to throw as a weapon. Mug, gum, staplers, log books, went sailing towards the lunch lady but all was blocked by a single forearm and she did not look happy.

With a murderous look on her face, the lunch lady forcibly sat Ms. Ho on the monoblock chair and grabbed a belt hanging on the wall to tie her up.

"What are you doing there Tenten? Run!" Ms. Ho screamed as she continued to struggle from the lunch lady's abnormal strength.

Scrambling to her knees, Tenten ran with all her might past the gate and in the direction of her home.

"Oh no you don't," the lunch lady said, procuring a whistle from her apron and gave it a long blow.

The shrill sound was followed by the humming of motorcycles and it only urged Tenten to run faster.

One of the motorcycles skidded to a stop in front of her, she tried to run on another direction but another motorcycle blocked her path. Soon, she was boxed in and one by one, the drivers approached her with smirks on their faces.

One of them stopped right in front of her and took off their helmet.

For the first time since the whole debacle started, Tenten felt like crying.

The lunch lady before her barked a harsh laugh and shrugged. "Just a job kid," she gave a smirk. "You should've just stayed in that bathroom. To think I went through all that to put something in your lunch to keep you away."

"What?" Tenten asked, inching away from her but only a few feet behind her, the other drivers stood.

"I mean," the lunch lady said, her voice deepening a few notches.

The lunch lady inched towards her and as the distance between them shrunk, before Tenten's eyes, the lunch lady's brown eyes turned blue, her height shortening, the white hair turning a sunshine yellow and as she (he?) came to a stop a mere feet in front of her, she was faced by a mirror image of Naruto.

"Seriously!" The Naruto in front of her barked a laugh as if he just witnessed the best prank ever. "Weren't you even suspicious about those chocolates?"

'Naruto' turned on his heel as he shook his head.

He glanced at her over his shoulder and mocked a surprised look at her stricken face.

"Why do you look so shocked?" 'Naruto' said with a smirk on his face. Sweat had started to form on her forehead and all she could do was gulp in fear.

"Oh you mean this?" He gestured to his body. "It's just a special ability you see - an Alice. It allows me to transform into anyone I want," as 'Naruto' was talking, his hair started to lengthen and change color. His clothes as well were transforming according to his will.

"Nice right?" The rhetorical question was asked with a high-pitched voice and by the time the last syllable was spoken, Tenten was looking at herself.

The Tenten before her was smirking at her trembling form. The other men in black taking glee on her fear.

"Hey now, don't look so scared. Tell you what," her image smiled at her. "Since I wouldn't have found out about that Uzumaki without your meddling the other day, I'll give you a little treat."

It was unnerving to see her own face smile so maliciously. A sadistic look had clouded her eyes and from where she stood, Tenten could see that whoever was in front of her was transforming once again.

"Oh wow," a husky voice exclaimed. Standing before her was a man. Sharp brown eyes smirked at her and a hand came up to scratch at the back of his brunette head as he cracked his neck into place.

"It's been a while since I've been in my original form," he muttered, even going so far as to hug himself.

Even though she was scared to the bone, she felt her eye twitch at the narcissistic display. It was not unlike her classmate Yui.

"Mizuki-sama," one of the men called and whispered something into Mizuki's ear, making him drop his arms and stiffen his back.

He gave a sharp exhale as he pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"Your friend is really getting on my nerves, kid," he said.

But the frown on his face did not last long as his face brightened and a smirk curled in his lips.

"You know what," he started, walking towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder and curled his fist around it, making her wince.

"You might have some use still, girl. Come on," he pushed her towards one of the motorcycles and forcibly made her seat in one before slinging a leg over and riding it himself.

Tenten closed her eyes shut as the engine roared to life and accelerated at an unbelievable speed.

Before she knew it, she was being pushed down the vehicle and was dragged by the shoulder back to the school's premises.

Raucous fighting echoed in the halls. Tenten could hear Naruto's voice still, screaming and thrashing. Goosebumps invaded the length of her arms and she bit her lip to keep her wits about her.

The skin where Mizuki's hand is clasped was already throbbing in pain.

"So the mist is finally out, huh." Mizuki said with a smirk, thumbing his nose.

"It seems Momochi Zabuza had been taken out, Mizuki-sama." One of the men said from behind them.

'T-taken out?' Tenten thought, dread washing over her but the men paid her no heed.

Mizuki made a 'tsk' sound and said, "Good riddance. That damned man had been giving us trouble for a while now. Him and that stupid academy."

"Who is he anyway?" One of them boldly asked.

Mizuki lightly glared at the man fpr speaking so casually but answered him still, "Listen noob, that Zabuza is a wrench in our plans and that is all you need to know."

"That demon deserves to rot in hell," he muttered under his breath.

"No!" Tenten yelled, surprising them.

Mizuki's grip had loosened on her shoulder and Tenten took the chance to run.

"What're you doing? Go after her, you idiots!"

'Zabuza-san is not dead!' The thought went around in her mind even as she ran without a destination. Tears were sliding out of her face as terror overtook her whole body. Her hands kept trembling and her legs were weakening with the strain. Breathing was becoming a chore, her sobs not making it any more easier.

Footsteps reached her ears and in her panic, she tripped on her own two feet and fell face first on the ground.

"Tenten!"

Tenten looked up at the sound of her name to see Naruto on his knees and in a headlock. She had unknowingly ran towards the playground.

"Naruto!" She immediately stood up on her feet but as she did so, the man behind Naruto gave him a sharp smack at the back of his head.

She screamed.

His ten-year-old head was no match for the adult male's beefy hand, his head lolled to the side, unconscious.

"Damn it," the man cursed.

Tenten watched as he threw Naruto's body aside but, her eyes widened.

' _Poof!_ '

The body disappeared before it even met the ground.

"Another copy."

She stood frigid. What was going on? Fog inside the school, the lunch lady turned into a man, Naruto disappearing into a puff of smoke?

 _'What are they?'_

"I'm starting to get annoyed, kid. Don't test me." Then, she was captured once again. Two of Mizuki's men held her by the shoulders while the man himself was glancing around the secluded play ground.

"Listen up Uzumaki!" Mizuki called out to the Naruto-less playground. "We know you're still in here, so tell you what; you come out and we won't kill this friend of yours."

Tenten found a gun pointed straight between her wet eyes.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw movement at the table where she usually sat.

"I'll come out but let her go first!" The sound came from multiple directions.

"Heh," Mizuki chuckled "I'll be the judge of that."

The click of the safety was deafening. Tenten's heart stopped at the sight of a gun pointed at her temple.

"One," Mizuki's voice rang clearly. No one moved and a dead silence permeated in the playground.

"Two," Tenten swallowed, her tears had dried leaving tracks on her cheeks. The stare of the gun immobilizing her completely until the only thing she could do was breathe. There was rustling in the bushes, near the stone tables she frequented.

A pressure was added on the trigger and Mizuki gave her a cruel smirk, "Three."

 _'No, stop!'_

 _"Wait!"_ Naruto's voice rang out in the clearing, along with the sound of a gunshot and a body dropping to the ground.

"Too late," Mizuki said, cruel and merciless.

"No!"

Naruto's voice echoed in the deafening silence of the playground.

Everybody went stock-still.

Tenten was on the ground, on her knees, arms covering her face and her eyes were scrunched closed.

The guard that held her lay on the ground, a bullet on his head, dead.

A sob was heard, Tenten was trembling.

A shift in the air was felt and no one dared to move.

The sound of something clanging against each other resonated in the play ground.

Mizuki glanced around to see the play ground's equipment, the swing set, the slide, the jungle gym and even the garbage bins shake uncontrollably, all with the same intensity of the girl's trembling.

A whistling sound was left unheard in the clanging noises and the next thing Mizuki knew was a prick on his neck before tumbling to the ground, unconscious, along with the rest of his men, long needles on their necks.

From the building and through the playground's only entrance, came out Genma, worry covered his usually passive face as he neared the trembling girl.

He glanced around and saw that the surrounding equipment still trembled and Tenten still had her eyes covered.

Extending a hand, he reached out for her only to stop short when a tuft of blonde hair made itself known and beat him to it.

"Tenten!" Naruto shook her by the shoulders but no response was made. The girl only trembled more.

"Hey! Snap out of it, we're okay!" He nearly cried out, his guilt eating him. Tenten could have died because of him. _Because of him_.

He tried his hardest to ignore the dead body that lay just a few feet in front of him, a bullet on his head and blood slowly pooling the grass. That body could've been Tenten. That body could have been his friend.

 _He nearly killed his only friend._

"Come on! It's over Tenten!" He shook her harder, begging, praying to just make her to look at him.

"Naruto," Genma laid a hand on his shoulder. "I think you should stop."

Naruto opened his eyes, not knowing he closed them in the first place. He looked at Genma and

saw his expression shift and his skin pale.

 _Crash!_

He snapped his head to the side and saw the jungle gym collapse abruptly to the ground.

 _Crash!_

The swings were thrown out of their hinges.

All around them, everything violently trembled and shook as if an earthquake was taking place.

Naruto looked at what he thought is to be the source and dull, painfully blank hazel eyes stared back at him.

"T-Tenten?" He said in a whisper.

Eyes still blank, she opened her mouth to speak but in a blink of an eye she collapsed on him, a needle on her nape.

Before he could turn around and accuse Genma, he felt something prick his neck and everything went black.

* * *

 _ **A/n:**_ _I had some real struggles in this chapter, although hopefully it wasn't that obvious. I'm just glad that I was able to post this. Anyways, Neji (and Sasuke) may appear on the next chapter. Maybe. Pretty excited for it actually (NejiTen(Sasu?) HERE WE GO; also yey for NaruTenLee Brotp!). But still, really really sorry for the delay._

 _On a side note, mists and fogs are different, according to my research. It's a matter of thickness or visibility. Mists appear thinner. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Mists and fogs don't exactly occur much from where I come from. Hehe._

 _Constructive criticism is encouraged and extremely appreciated! Thank you for reading!_


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